May The Road Always Lead You Home
by Potikanda
Summary: Colin and Bradley both discover love in unusual women. Based on the TV series, Merlin. AU fic.
1. Chapter 1

Not so very long ago, I was completely in love with the television series, Merlin. Don't get me wrong, I still love the show, but I've moved on from being "in love" with it by this point. I'm sure it will eventually end up being the same for Glee and Doctor Who too. But while I was there, I wrote this shameless piece of fluff. I had an idea, and so I ran with it. It's not very good. It was the very first fan fic I ever wrote. I did have it up on Livejournal for a bit, but figured it was crap and took it down.

Now, since I am worried about my laptop crashing with all of my stories being lost forever, I decided to upload this online. Since I already have a account, I figured this is probably the best place for it. Feel free to review, if you're interested. Hope you like it!

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><p>Colin Morgan looked up from his homework on set, the shade making it hard for him to be able to see what he was working on. In front of him and down the stairs, Bradley James was sparring with the fight co-ordinator, going over the moves again and again to make sure he had them memorised. With a shake of his head, Colin smiled softly to himself. Bradley was a great guy, and when he really got going in Arthur mode, he was very focused.<p>

Problem with the world was, everyone expected him and Bradley to be "A Couple". Not that he minded, cause Bradley was such a good friend. But Colin wasn't really interested in Bradley that way. He was funny, sensitive, and a bit of a prat sometimes, but overall a great guy. And the fact that Bradley wasn't interested in him either was kind of a deterrent. They had talked about it while filming season two.

"Ya, sorry mate," Bradley had effused. "It's not that I don't like you or anything, I just happen to like girls. I mean, uhm, I like you as a friend and all, but not quite like THAT…" Bradley had gone quiet, and he flushed to the tips of his ears.

"Ya," Colin had replied. "I know. That's how I feel too! Poor fans who really want Merlin and Arthur to be together." And they had laughed and gone to lunch with Katie and Angel, and Santiago had joined them.

Now it was a year later, and Colin and Bradley had been finishing up with Season Three. This fight scene was supposed to be a culmination of a lot of different loose ends being tied up within the Merlin world. He, Colin, was supposed to play Merlin with more fervor than he ever had, and it was taking its toll on him. He was spending more and more time as Merlin, and less and less time as Colin. He didn't even remember the last time he had gone out with his friends just to hang out. Granted he didn't really care much for the clubs that Katie and Angel like to frequent, and Bradley liked to spend most of his weekends playing some type of high contact sport, usually football.

Colin usually found a quiet, out of the way place to read, or wandered down to the park and played a few games of chess with the old men who showed up everyday. His Golden Lab, Tess, was usually his constant companion. Well, she really belonged to the gentleman he leased the flat from, but Mr Doherty never minded if Colin "borrowed" Tess for an afternoon.

After a while, Colin noticed that Bradley and the stunt co-ordinator had stopped practicing, and were looking in the direction of the "drawbridge". As soon as he noticed them watching, he heard the faint but unmistakable strains of Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" floating on the breeze. Standing up, he put his homework down, and started walking towards the outside of the castle. As he passed Bradley, he gave a sharp tug on Bradley's tunic, and Bradley started walking with him.

As they got out onto the main lawn, they saw that a section of the lawn had been cordoned off, and in the centre of the opening a horse was… well, it was DANCING. To the MUSIC. To Bryan Adams' bloody music!

Looking more closely, Colin noticed that a set of speakers had been run out from a small laptop computer, and it was being run by a woman who was smiling and laughing while watching the horse dance. As he watched, the song changed, and now the haunting melody of "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence floated out over the small crowd that watched mesmerised. As Bradley and Colin walked over the rope, they noticed the girl had left the laptop and was walking out to the horse. As the horse's silver-grey coat shimmered with the fluid movements, the woman began to dance too. It was a slow, sensual dance, depicting the mood of the music that echoed over the ground. As the music came to the chorus, the woman executed a fantastic leap, and landed lightly on the back of the horse, who had no tack or gear on it at all. She performed several tricks while the horse was dancing, leaping to the left and right, spinning in circles, and making small jumps over imaginary hurdles. At one point, at the end of the song, she jumped back down from the horse's back, and performed an exquisite curtsey to the horse as it bowed back to her.

The crowd broke into instant applause. The woman spun around, noticed Bradley, Colin, Katie, Angel, Anthony and Richard all in the audience, and dashed to the laptop to stop the music before the next song started. With a small, secretive smile, she started the next song.

"This one goes out to all of our Merlin cast!" She shouted to the crowd. The melodic strains of "You're the Voice" bounded out over the crowd, and many of the girls in the crowd squealed. "I know you know the song, so sing the chorus with us!"

As the crowd began to sing with the woman, the horse began to do its spectacular dance again. Leaping from side to side, crow-hopping and spinning, it made it seem as though it was just dancing for the sheer unadulterated joy of the music. The woman grabbed the hands of a few of the girls standing by the side and pulled them under the rope. Dancing along to the song, she called "We're not gonna sit in silence, we're not gonna live with fear! Woahhhhhhh!"

She grabbed Colin's arm and pulled him in too, and he grabbed Bradley's tunic, who in turn grabbed Anthony and then they were all climbing under the rope, and dancing with this wild wood sprite and her magical horse. At the end of the song, she curtsied again, this time in the direction of the Merlin cast, and the horse bowed too.

Turning down the music a little, the woman allowed the horse to dance or not, as it will, and put random music on. "Can't Fight the Moonlight" by Leanne Rimes softly played over the grounds. Some of the smaller children wandered up to the woman and asked if they could pet the horse. Giving a small smile, she took the hand of one of the smallest children, and walked all of them over near him.

"His name is Hero," She mentioned casually. Making sure all the kids were a safe distance, she flicked her fingers in the horse's direction, and it knelt, and lay down on the soft grass. Letting out a soft huff, the horse positioned itself for all the petting it could receive. As the small children swarmed the horse, he barely flicked an ear, and a soft look came into his eyes as they petted, scratched and hugged him.

Colin wandered over to the woman, who looked to be a couple of years older than himself. She had gotten up and was shutting off the laptop, dismantling the speakers, and pulling down the rope barrier. He grabbed one side of the barrier and started looping it up neatly, handing it to her when he got to the end. She flashed him a brilliant smile.

"Thanks," She said softly, her accented voice completely different from those he was used to. "I usually end up having to do this part by myself." Her eyes looked down as she flushed a deep scarlet. The smile was still there though, so Colin replied "You're welcome," in his deep Irish brogue. Her eyes locked with his for just a moment, and she laughed, a throaty, musical sound. The sound of it made Colin's eyes crinkle, and he started laughing too.

"So you're American?" He asked conversationally as he watched her pack up the laptop very carefully in a backpack. He was intrigued about her. She wasn't as pretty, or slender as some of the girls he had dated, and she was a bit older than him, but her smile lit up her face and made him feel as though she was the most beautiful woman on earth.

"Nope. Canadian." She replied mysteriously. "You're from Armagh, right?"

Colin flushed. "Ya… Guess you're a fan, hmmm?"

"Ummmm… You could say that. You're the main reason I wanted to come to France, anyway," She blushed ferociously. "I shouldn't have said that," She mumbled, looking away. Putting the rest of her belongings in her backpack, she stood, and let loose a piercing whistle. The horse didn't move, but a blur of grey streaked out of the forest close-by. It caused commotion with the few remaining people left around, who were waiting for their kids to finish with the horse, and a couple of women screamed and dashed to catch hold of their children's hands. The grey streak flashed like lightning up to the woman, and sat down at her feet, tail wagging, tongue lolling out of it's mouth, waiting for a caress.

"Good Lord," Colin exclaimed. "That is by far the biggest wolf I have ever seen! Not that I've seen many wolves up close…" He slowly placed his hand near the wolf's nose, hoping fervently that it didn't decide it wanted Colin for dinner. The wolf looked at him, with it's yellow, wise eyes, smelled his hand and gave it a lick, then returned all it's attention to the woman.

"What's your name?" Colin finally managed to ask. "And how do you go about charming the animals as you do?"

"Hmmm?" The woman asked thoughtfully. "Oh, well, I just raise them from the time they are babies, and they will do anything for me. And I'm known around here as Ocean."

"Ocean?" Colin asked. "Is that your real name?"

"Actually it isn't," She replied. "But my real name has become dry and dusty from lack of use, so I use the new one now. I prefer it, and the old one stood for something quite different than who I am now." Ocean began walking back to the horse, Hero, the wolf following docilely at her side. "This is Hope, by the way." She gestured to the wolf by her side.

"Hello, Hope," Colin stated politely. The wolf just kind of looked at him and smiled a wolfish grin.

"I'm sorry children, but Hero has to go now. I know, I know," Ocean stated as the children began to get upset at leaving their beloved new toy. "But Hero can come back another day, I'm sure, and he'll get to play with you again then." She smiled a little sadly at the children all around. "One more pet then we have to go…" As the children dispersed with their parents, one little girl stayed behind for an extra moment.

"I won't be coming back," She said in a very quiet voice. "Mummy and Daddy say I'm going to die 'cause I have cancer. Can I touch Hero one last time?" She asked plaintively. Colin's heart nearly broke in two. With a quick look at Ocean, he said "Of course you can, sweetheart. Just let him get up." Ocean flicked her fingers at the horse, and he lumbered to his feet. Standing there, he lowered his head to the girls' level. She touched his head softly, petting his nose and forehead.

In a fit of gallantry Colin lifted the small girl up into his arms. She was so light, he was afraid he'd drop her, but instead placed her, ever so gently, on Hero's back. Holding on to one of her knees to help her balance, he nudged Hero to a walk. He noticed that Ocean had taken up a place on the other side of the small girl. He also noticed her eyes were bright with unshed tears. They did a circuit of the lawn, and then her parents hurried up to the horse.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart," Her mother said. "I know you want to play some more with Hero, but we have to get you back to the hospital now. It's time for your medicine." The girl sighed, and put her arms out for Colin to pick her up again. As he grasped her gently, she hugged him, and laid a small kiss on his cheek. Then she opened her arms for her mother to take her, and they were gone.

Looking over at Ocean, he noticed that she was crying fully now, and he realised his tears were overflowing too. He walked slowly around the horse and put his arms around Ocean, holding them tightly together as they softly grieved for the tiny girl who they would never see again.

"Thank you," Ocean said as she dried the remaining tears on the sleeve of her jumper. "I think you made her feel special when you placed her on Hero's back. Every child should feel special sometimes," A slow stream of fresh tears wandered down her face. "Especially…."

"When they won't be around much longer," Colin finished for her, wrapping his arms around her again and planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I know," he supplied, soothing her. She sniffled a little, then looked up at him through wet lashes. "Thank you again," She pulled away a little, then, as though she thought better of it, she leaned up and gave him a soft kiss on the mouth. Flushing, she turned and started walking, Hero and Hope walking faithfully by her side.

"Wait!" Colin shouted after a moment or two. "When can I see you again?"

She turned and at that moment a gust of wind blew up and tossed her hair around her face. "I'll be around," came the soft, wind swept reply.

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><p>So? What do you think? Good story or not? Let me know!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

This is Chapter Two of May The Road Always Lead You Home. Here we get a look at how Bradley feels about the whole situation!

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><p>Bradley James was at the wheel of his brand new car. It took the curves of the French countryside nicely, and he loved driving in it, especially with Colin sitting beside him. Colin was always cracking those dark jokes and making Bradley laugh like crazy. They were currently laughing about something they had watched on the Catherine Tate show the other day. It had been a repeat, but they had watched it anyway, and they were still laughing their heads off.<p>

"And David Tennant said 'Doctor Who?'" They both started giggling again.

"Hey, Look!" Colin cried out suddenly. He had spotted a horse walking at the side of the road, with a woman on its back and what looked to be a wolf trotting by it's side.

"Hey! Isn't that the chick from Pierrefonds from a few weeks ago?" Bradley remembered the horse more than the girl, to be honest. It had been amazing to see a horse that could actually dance to music, making leaps and bounds to the rhythms.

"Yeah! That's Ocean! Can we stop please?" Colin was practically begging Bradley to stop. Bradley pulled over to the side of the small road, ending up behind the horse by a few lengths. Colin jumped out of the front seat and shouted "Ocean!"

The woman atop the horse turned around, and blessed Colin with one of the loveliest smiles that Bradley had ever seen.

"Hello Colin, Bradley," She spoke softly, sliding down from the tall, silvery-grey horse. She looked a little more world weary than the last time Bradley and Colin had seen her. Her hair was pulled back into a soft bun, fringes of hair escaping everywhere and blowing in the wind. The backpack on the horse was attached with soft buckles to prevent chafing, and both Bradley and Colin knew that housed her laptop, speakers and the ropes she used to cordon off areas where the horse Hero would dance.

"What are you doing here?" Colin asked. "I looked for you for ages! Why didn't you come back?" Bradley thought Colin was being horribly transparent, but hey, whatever worked for him. Bradley had endured a full week of Colin talking non-stop about this chick, and so he ignored the conversation and walked to the horse, named Hero, and petting it and the wolf, Hope.

"Uhm, well, I was kind of embarrassed after our meeting, so I spent a few days hiding. When I finally worked up the courage to go back, filming had stopped and everyone had left. I figured I would never see you again," Ocean replied quietly. Bradley had to strain to hear the soft voice over the sounds of the rustling leaves on the October ground.

"Oh," said Colin. "I thought you just… well… Didn't like me or anything.." Colin blurted out quickly. Then promptly turned three shades of red and ducked his head down.

"Didn't like you?" Ocean replied, confusion evident in her voice. "Cause I go around kissing everyone like I did with you?" Then SHE turned three shades of red, and Bradley decided it was time to step in to try and salvage whatever Colin had just fucked up.

"Hey you two love birds, I'm gonna take off. The sun's going down and Katie and Angel expect me to go clubbing with them tonight. Col, you coming?" Bradley passed the two and looked over his shoulder but Colin hadn't even moved.

"Where are you staying tonight?" Colin asked Ocean. Bradley knew of only one place where she would be able to keep a horse and a wolf by her side, and her answer confirmed it.

"I was actually just looking for a camping spot," Ocean replied with a touch of a blush. "I saw a creek up ahead, and was making my way to it when you stopped me."

"You've been sleeping outside? What about a bed, and… pillows… and stuff?" Colin finished lamely.

Ocean let out a musical giggle. "What? And leave Hero and Hope to the elements when I'm enjoying myself? No thanks. What's good enough for them is good enough for me. But you're both more than welcome to come check out my camping spot." She gestured forward, and both Hope and Hero began walking again. As she walked Bradley noticed Ocean was limping. Colin was too busy talking to notice it.

"What happened to you?" Bradley interrupted suddenly. "Why are you limping like that?"

Ocean flushed scarlet, and tried to hide herself on the other side of Hero. "It's nothing…"

Colin looked at her critically, and said "No, he's right. What happened? Please tell us," He whispered softly to her. Ocean looked up at him with her soft green eyes, and right then Bradley's heart gave a small lurch. He would have done almost anything to have someone look at him with such unabashed love and trust.

"Someone stole my passport a few days ago. They also took my shoes," She finished lamely. "Actually, the only thing they didn't take was my backpack. The only reason I can think that they didn't take it was because it was back at my camp with Hope pretty much laying on top of it. I got out of the water from swimming and everything I owned that was with me was gone." She finished with a sigh. "They even took my flint and dagger. I haven't been warm in days…" She shrugged.

Bradley's heart went out to this woman who had suffered so much in such a little time. Colin wrapped his arms around her softly, trying futilely to rub some warmth into her soft arms.

"Shit," Bradley muttered. "Okay, here's what we're going to do." He put on his Arthur persona, and started giving directions. "Colin, I want you to remove the pack off the horse. Ocean, I want you to put a rope on Hero, and make sure he's well secured. Colin, put the pack in the car, and get Hope inside. God, I hope she doesn't stink up the inside of my new car…"

Colin started following his directions, but Ocean just looked at Bradley like he was barking mad. Colin wandered up behind her, and whispered "Just do it. He won't give any reasons for why he's asking us to do it, but I've learned to just trust him." Ocean looked at Colin, and then gave Bradley a speculative glance. Then she started rummaging through the pack in the backseat of the car, and pulled out a length of rope and carefully tied it into the form of a halter for Hero.

While they did that Bradley checked his car to make sure everything was set, and got into the front drivers seat. Colin got into the back with Ocean, and the rope was fed through the window. Ocean leaned out the window and made sure Hero was all right, walking beside the car. Bradley made sure the car went slow enough for him. They travelled quite a way this way, with Hero walking beside the car, and other cars driving past and honking.

"Thank god Hero doesn't startle easily," Ocean commented. Bradley snorted. "If he had," He replied. "Then he wouldn't be attached to MY car!" And he gave a sharp laugh.

In the back seat Ocean and Colin looked at each other and smiled. Finally they got to a stable where Colin and Bradley sometimes went riding, to help keep their riding skills ready. Bradley went inside to talk to the elderly owner of the stable, and they came back out together.

"It's all set," He explained. "Hero and Hope are both welcome to stay here. Hero will have a stall in the back, away from Henry's breeding mares, and Hope is more than welcome to stay with him. Although Henry has promised that if she scares any of his livestock, he will pull out his gun and shoot her." Bradley turned a couple of shades darker with his blush. "Couldn't talk him out of that, I'm afraid."

"That won't be a problem," Ocean confirmed. "I taught her a long time ago that domesticated animals are NOT to be hunted. The only problem I can see is with Hero. If he catches wind of those breeding mares, he may not be able to control himself." Looking at Hero, she took his head in her hands, and stared him full in the eyes.

After a few minutes she blinked, released a sigh, and dropped her hands. "There," she said solemnly. "I think I managed to convince him that the mares here aren't worth him getting himself shot over. I don't think you'll have any problems with him, sir. Just to check, can you show me where those mares are?"

Henry showed them the mare barn, and Ocean demonstrated by walking Hero past a mare in full heat, and he didn't even so much as look at her. Then she brought Hero to his new stall around back, made sure he had plenty to eat and drink, and told Hope to stay with him.

As they walked away, Hope made the first sound Bradley had ever heard from her. She whined softly. Ocean turned back, knelt down and wrapped her arms around her friend. Kissing the top of her head, she promised she would return and they would be together again soon. Hope stopped whining, and Ocean patted Hero's nose, then turned and walked back to the car. As she got in, Bradley noticed that Ocean's eyes were wet. Out of consideration, he didn't mention it.

Colin climbed into the back seat with Ocean, and took her hand in his. Again, Bradley's stomach did a flip flop, as he noticed the look of sweet affection on their faces. They thought they were hiding it, but Bradley could see it. And he couldn't help wondering if there was someone out there that could make him feel that way. It's not like he didn't date. He went out with women a LOT. But none of them made his pulse race, or make him feel warm and fuzzy all over.

By the time they made it back to the hotel, Bradley had worked himself into a right foul mood, thinking that he would never find the right person. Ocean looked at Colin and asked him to check and see if it was all right if she could stay in one of their rooms, and then had placed a restraining hand on Bradley's forearm.

"You will, Bradley," She whispered so softly he could only just catch what she said. The look on her face wasn't upsetting, just sympathetic. "She'll come along one day, one day soon, and you'll be so blown away you won't know what hit you. She'll make things hard for you for a while, but eventually she will settle down. And please remember, Bradley. _She WILL be worth it._"

Bradley's eyes widened with this information, and he gently removed Ocean's hand from his arm. "I dunno what you're talking about," He grumped. "I'm just fine. Now I'm going to get ready to go out with the girls. And nothing," he emphasised, "NOTHING is going to stop me from getting ready. G'night." And with that, he stalked off to his bedroom.

Colin looked back at Ocean, and offered her his hand. "What was that all about?" He asked. "Nothing," Ocean replied with a hint of sadness in her eyes. There was also a twinkle, a dash of mischief in her voice. "He's just in for a rude awakening, that's all." "Oh." Colin replied thoughtfully. "Well, he's due…"

Colin led Ocean to his room. As he led her inside, they could hear Bradley stomping around in the room next door. Giving Colin a small smile, Ocean sat softly on the end of the bed, and looked around. There weren't very many personal effects in the room. A shirt lying over the back of a chair, a pair of sneakers placed carefully by the doorway, a hamper of dirty clothes in the corner waiting to be washed.

"Well, this is it," Colin stated nervously. He rubbed his hands on his jeans, and sat beside Ocean on the bed. Ocean smiled at Colin softly. "If you don't mind, I'd really really like a shower, if I might." "Oh! Sure," Colin replied, jumping up and grabbing a fresh towel from the bar in the bathroom. "Here," He finished lamely.

Ocean laughed. "Colin, relax, okay? I care about you, but you're driving me crazy! Let me have a shower and then we'll talk, okay?" Ocean smiled at Colin, making his insides do funny things. Ocean closed the bathroom door, and Colin could imagine her getting undressed, turning on the shower, and stepping inside. Then Colin realised HE was the one who needed a shower, and a cold one at that!

He left the room, and walked next door to Bradley's room. He knocked once, waited for Bradley to answer, and pushed past him into the room. Bradley had his toothbrush in his mouth, and a surprised look on his face. Colin paced around and around Bradley's room, not saying anything. Bradley shook his head and went to rinse his mouth out. After a minute he came back.

"So, you're really sweet on her, huh?" Bradley asked. "She's not like anyone I've ever met before! I don't know what to say, what to do for her to make her like me! Now she's in my shower, NAKED, and I can't control myself! I'm behaving like a horny teenager! I came over here to stop myself from getting in the shower WITH her!" Colin groaned.

Bradley grabbed his friend by the shoulder, and sat him down on the edge of his bed. "Firstly, I don't think Ocean would be that put out with you climbing in the shower with her, cause she's just as sweet on you as you are of her. Secondly, your straight-laced Irish upbringing would NEVER allow you to do that. Thirdly, the shower just turned off in the next room, which means she is probably in there wearing nothing but a towel and wondering where the hell you went. She needs clean clothes to wear, and she won't fit in anything of mine. Get in there and find her something to wear, and then just talk with her. Give her a chance to get to know you." With a final clap on the back, Bradley pushed Colin out of his room and turned to keep getting ready.

Colin went back to his room, and just as Bradley had predicted, Ocean was in just a towel, sitting on the end of the bed. Averting his eyes, Colin walked to the dresser, and pulled out a pair of his softest jogging pants, and one of his favourite tee shirts. Walking back to her, he passed them to Ocean, and stepped into the bathroom to give her privacy to change.

In two minutes he heard a knock at the bathroom door. "Colin, are you okay?" Came Ocean's muffled voice. He removed his head from his hands and opened the door. Giving her a small smile, he showed her he was all right. Passing her, he opened the mini fridge and pulled out a small bag of mixed nuts. Taking a couple he passed her the bag, and he sat on the bed. He was trying very hard not to stare, but he was finding he really liked seeing her there in his baggy clothes. His face flushed a bright red, and he looked at the floor.

Ocean took the bag of nuts and placed them on the night table. She stood in front of Colin, looking down at the redness of the tips of his ears and the back of his neck. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, sliding it up his neck to his jawline, and to his chin. Lifting softly, she raised his face to look up at her, and breathed "Look at me…"

Colin looked up and his breath caught in his chest. The wet strands of Oceans' hair tickled his cheek, as she looked at him through her damp eyelashes. The look she gave him was pure love. There was no animosity, no worry, no sorrow. Just love. As she dipped her head down to kiss him, his last coherent thought was that Bradley was right.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3, in which our heroes try to entice the girls, a fire breaks out, and an old man nearly has a heart attack. Enjoy!

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><p>Bradley met up with Angel and Katie at the club. As they entered, the deep booming rhythms pulsed up through his feet. "Ya, this is what I'm talking about!" Bradley shouted to be heard over the beat. He grabbed Angel and twirled her around once, then did the same for Katie. Laughing, he gestured them to join the dancers on the floor, and he would get the first round of drinks.<p>

Stopping at the bar, he motioned to the bartender. "Three of the house brew," He called. Snapping off the tops of the bottles, the bartender passed him the beer. As he made his way back to Angel and Katie, he paused. A woman was standing close by, her body language clearly making it known that she was not interested in the guy who was trying to chat her up. Bradley placed the beers on the table beside her, and said "Hey man, she's not interested."

The woman looked at Bradley, and he saw a glimmer of recognition there. "I'll handle it," She called back. The very drunk man looked at Bradley, and said, "Ya asshole. Fuck off!"

All of a sudden, the man found himself lying on the floor, face up, his beer dumped on him. "Mind your manners, you drunken ass." The woman shouted at the drunk, then grabbed Bradley's hand and pulled him away.

"You okay?" He asked when there came a pause in the music. "I'm fine, Mr James. I saw Miss Coulby and Miss McGrath around here somewhere. Oh, there they are. Here ladies, I've brought your man back to you." She ended with a small laugh.

Katie and Angel both laughed too. "Oh he's not our man," Angel had to raise her voice as the music started back up again. "Oh I LOVE this song! Come dance with me, Katie!" And with that they spun off to the dance floor again. Bradley was left standing there with the woman.

"My name is Desiree, by the way!" Called the woman, as her body started to sway with the music. She gave him a sultry smile, and began moving toward the dance floor. "Oh no you don't," Bradley called, and grabbed her by the waist, spinning her around the dance floor. Before they knew it they were dancing to every song together, and she was matching him drink for drink. Katie and Angel kept bursting out laughing, and every time he'd asked "Whut?' They'd just laugh harder and shake their heads.

By one in the morning, they were both totally trashed, and he thought about helping her home, but it was a very fleeting thought. "Come back to my room," Bradley slurred. "Make love with me…" They climbed in a taxi, and made it back to the hotel. Desiree didn't make any noise of protest, as he slid his hand across her back, and down a bit further as they stumbled down the hall. He fumbled with the lock, got the door open and then they fell together into the room.

He got up slowly, as the room was spinning, helped her up as best he could, and they both made it to the bed. They kissed passionately, but Bradley's head was so messed up he kept missing her mouth. Trying to take his pants off was another problem, his hands weren't working the way they were supposed to. All of a sudden, everything went black. As he fell into unconsciousness, the last thing he heard was "Oh, shit…"

Bradley woke up with the mother of all hangovers. He was in bed, his shirt lying on the floor, his jeans half unzipped, and a woman sound asleep beside him. As he turned over to look at her, he realised it was the girl from the club the night before. What was her name? Debbie? He remembered different bits of the night, but nothing very clearly. Had they had sex? His eyes popped open quickly. Looking at the woman, he realised she was fully clothed, so the panic subsided a bit.

"Hey," He heard from her side of the bed. Her eyes were open slightly, a shy smile on her face. He offered her a grin, and stretched. Folding his arms under his head he turned to stare at her. "Guess I wasn't much of a Casanova last night, huh?" A subtle blush crept up his neck to pink his cheeks.

She blinked, then burst out laughing. "No, I guess not. Well, you'll just have to make it up to me then, huh?" A wicked grin flashed across her face. Then she blushed too. "God, I must still be at least a little drunk… I'm not usually like this," She laughed again. Bradley decided he really liked that little laugh of hers.

"Well, I'll tell you what; I happen to have the day off today, and I'm sure we can find something to do. How about breakfast?" He drawled in his cheapest imitation of a Frenchman. The woman laughed long and loud. "Only if you promise not to do that again!" Came the retort.

Bradley offered the shower to her first, and began getting clothes for his shower. He really wished he could remember what her name was. It was kind of embarrassing to be calling her everything but her actual name, and he was pretty sure it wasn't Debbie. It took him 7 minutes to remember, and he did it just as she was walking out of the bathroom.

"Desiree!" She stopped towelling her hair, looked at him like he was barking mad, and asked "Yes?" Bradley flushed scarlet, and said in a sheepish voice, "Nothing…" She laughed again, and said matter-of-factly; "You forgot my name, didn't you?" Her grin showed that there was nothing for him to apologise for.

As Bradley took his shower, he thought over the things that they could do together. He really liked Desiree, and wanted to get to know her better. As Paris was the city of romance (Or was that Venice?) it's not like he was stuck having to go to a movie or anything cheesy like that. No, he'd woo Desiree properly. Bradley thought some more. Hmmm…. Well, he'd think of something.

As he got out of the shower, inspiration hit. The Eiffel Tower! Every sappy, romantic movie he'd ever seen (not that those were frequent but they did happen) that took place in Paris had SOMETHING to do with the Eiffel Tower. And he'd bet she probably hadn't seen it yet. Since she had an American accent, he guessed that she hadn't been in Paris for very long.

As he dressed, he heard voices in his room. Scrambling to get dressed, he slid on the mat, whacked his shoulder on the towel rack, and bumped his head against the door. There was silence from the room for a few seconds, and then Colin's voice rang out, "Bradley? You okay in there?" "Fine," he replied, scowling because his head hurt.

Since it was just Colin, and because he didn't expect anyone else to be there but Desiree, he walked out wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Ocean watching. Her raised eyebrow indicated he maybe should have thought that idea through a little more before following through. Oh well.

"Forgot my briefs," He chuckled softly, grabbed them, and dashed back into the bathroom, so they couldn't see his red face. The soft tinkling laugh of Ocean was overpowered by Desiree's full-throated belly laugh. Once he was fully dressed, he re-emerged, snapping his now wet towel at Colin's chest. Grinning, Colin made a grab for it and they played a little tug of war with it. It was an old, familiar ritual, and it helped bring calm to Bradley's mind.

"So," He began. "What are you two up to on a lovely day such as today?" Bradley risked a glance outside. It was bright and sunny, looked quite warm for a late fall day.

"We were hoping to go see the Eiffel Tower," Colin explained. "And wanted to know if you and Desiree wanted to come with us. We can take a picnic and sit on the lawn," Colin finished breathlessly. Bradley was flabbergasted. Not only had Colin anticipated what he was going to do, he came up with a better idea than Bradley had!

"Ummm," Bradley hesitated. "Oh come on Bradley," Desiree chuckled. "I haven't been to see the Eiffel Tower yet, and Colin and Ocean seem like a lot of fun to hang out with!" Bradley tried to look gruff, but it was hard with the three of them standing there grinning like idiots.

"Fine, we can go, but I want meat with my lunch!" Bradley joked, slapping poor Colin on the shoulder. "And Cheese!" Laughing now, he led the group out the door and down to the breakfast area.

Colin led the other three round the Eiffel Tower, doing his best imitation of a French tour guide. His humor had them in stitches, especially when he managed to look offended and amused at the same time. His poor French accent, trying to be heard over the thick Irish brogue, kept them laughing throughout most of the morning.

True to his word, Colin brought lunch with him. There were fruits and vegetables, all kinds, and for the carnivores he'd packed some sliced meat, cheese, and lots of rolls and baguettes. A small tub of butter for the rolls completed the package, and they bought drinks to enjoy while they were there.

In all, Bradley had to admit, this was more fun than he'd had in quite a long time. As they sat eating, he noticed that Ocean and Desiree had been enjoying each other's company. Not that they'd been ignoring the guys, but they seemed to connect in a similar way that Colin and Bradley had done when they had first met. At the moment, they were chatting together while Colin and Bradley looked on, eating.

Ocean suddenly looked up, mid-sentence, and stared at Bradley. "Hey, do you think we could go see Hope and Hero today?" She asked shyly. Bradley frowned. "Already? We just left them there yesterday," he replied. "You don't think there's anything wrong, do you?" After what she had done yesterday, in calming the horse and the wolf, he was pretty sure she was magical. Or at least as close to magical as one could get in today's day and age.

"Not wrong, precisely…" Ocean replied softly. "Just, not quite the same as it was a few minutes ago." She shrugged. "It's probably nothing, but I need to make sure." Bradley nodded. "As long as it's okay with these two jokers," he nodded to Colin and Desiree. "Then I have no problem with checking up on them. Was gonna suggest it later, actually." Which was half true. If he'd remembered, he would have, so there.

After lunch they all piled into Bradley's car, and made their way to the stable. As they got closer, they noticed fire trucks and smoke in the air. Ocean gasped, and leaned over Colin to get a good look out the window. They all saw Henry standing a short distance away, and Bradley parked his car. Rushing out, they all congregated at the elderly man, who looked quite dazed.

"Henry! Are you okay?" Bradley had to shout to make himself heard over the sound of the fire engines, the water and the sound of terrified horses.

"Eh?" Henry replied. "Oui, I am fine. And thanks to that little Hope, my horses are also fine. Never saw anything like that before." He turned gentle eyes to Hope, who was sitting on the ground next to Hero. "Not only did she bark like mad to get my attention, she also managed to get all the horses out. I don't understand what she did, but she saved their lives!"

Bradley noticed that all of the horses were standing out in the field beyond them, none of them moving. They seemed to be in the same place, at the farthest corner of the pasture. They were neighing, but none of them were in danger.

He wandered over to Hope and knelt down beside her. Giving her a gentle rub in the ruff of her neck, he surveyed the area to make sure there wasn't anyone else who needed help. It seemed the old man lived alone, and the only ones there other than himself were the horses. The firefighters had the fire under control, but the barn was in ruins. Behind him, he heard Desiree and Ocean quickly talking together about what they could do to help Henry. Colin was talking to the old man himself, reassuring him that everything was going to be okay.

They stayed with Henry for quite some time, making sure the old man was all right and all the horses were content once the fire was put out. When they finally left, they were dirty, with the smell of smoke in their nostrils and on their clothes. They returned to the hotel to shower, and made plans for dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

A party is interrupted, someone flees for their life, and a hunt for a fugitive! Enjoy chapter 4!

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><p>Ocean was having one of her afternoon dance parties on the lawn of Pierrefonds Castle. It had become a regular thing, done once or twice a month, depending on if there were French children visiting the castle. The cast and crew of Merlin were unwinding after a morning shoot, dancing with the kids and generally having a good time.<p>

Colin was worried. He had seen a French police officer going around asking questions. He found Ocean, and asked her if she knew about the police officer.

"No, I haven't seen him… Why?" She asked smilingly.

"Because he keeps asking for the person who has been setting up these parties. I think he wants them stopped…" Colin worried at his lower lip. "I came straight to you to let you know. Now I have to go see the Jays… They need to know what's going on…. I'll be right back!" He called as he dashed through the crowd of children.

Ocean began looking around for the officer. If he was here to ask her to stop, she wanted to know about it and the reason why. Spotting Hero in the far field, she gave a small smile and continued her search for the officer. There he was, on the far side of the kids, near her laptop. She swayed to the music as she sashayed across the lawn towards him.

Once she got to him, she approached him with her usual blunt friendliness.

"Bonjour! Is there something I can help you with?" She gave him her most winsome smile, but the officer didn't blink.

"Madam, est-ce que ca c'est ton partie?" He asked. Is this your party?

"C'est pas un partie, officiere… Juste la musique pour mes amies!" She explained it wasn't a party, but that she was just providing music for her friends.

"Madam, avez vous un permis?" He asked crossly. Do you have a permit?

"Non, mais ce n'est pas un partie, je t'ai dis!" She responded. No, but I did tell you this isn't a party!

"Est-ce que tu peut me donner un bon raison pour ne arrestez vous?" He asked even more crossly. Can you give me a good reason to not arrest you?

Ocean turned the music off on the laptop. The crowd around started booing, but she really didn't care at the moment. "Monseiur, parlez-vous Anglais?" Do you speak English?

"Yes, I speak, understand more." The police officer replied.

"Monsieur, I'm sorry if I have broken any French laws, but we have done this once or twice a month for the last 3 months. The kids look forward to it…" Ocean gestured to the children surrounding them. "They love being able to come here and learn the history and then interacting with the crew." She gestured at the cast and crew of Merlin. "Please don't take this away from them!" She finished in a rush.

The officer pulled out his handcuffs in response, and motioned for her to approach him. Ocean's eyes became very large, with tears beginning to pool in each eye. At this point most of the cast had come to see what was going on.

"Here, now!" Called Anthony. "Are those really necessary?" A sharp murmur rippled through the crowd as they watched the police officer advancing on the slowly retreating Ocean. Her hands were up in front of her, the tears now slipping silently down her cheeks. As she backed away, she became steadily surrounded by her friends.

Her heart was thudding, but all she could see was those dreaded handcuffs. Her mind flashed back to BEFORE, before she was Ocean and good things had happened. Back to when she was Mary, and she was being accused of murder.

She wrenched her mind back to the present, and saw Julian speaking softly to the officer. All she could do was shudder silently, surrounded by her friends. Santiago had his hand on her shoulder, massaging gently, trying to soothe her. Eoin had grabbed her hand on the other side, squeezing lightly, and everyone had moved around her in a protective circle.

"Wait," She called softly. "Wait!" She said a little louder, cutting through the distinct ugly murmur that was running through the crowd around her. Squeezing Eoin's hand back, she gave a pale, watery smile at her friends, and walked forward to the officer.

"I will go with you," She declared. "But I will NOT be subjected to those ridiculous handcuffs. I will go under my own power." And she had to give herself bonus points for not shuddering through her declaration.

The officer actually looked a bit sorry for her as he took her hand. "I'm sorry. I must…" He spoke softly, as he snapped the cuff on her wrist.

Ocean looked at him, stunned that she was in cuffs. She had believed that she would never have to go through this again, EVER. Her heart stopped a beat when she heard the snap of the cuff, and again when the officer snapped on the second cuff. She couldn't look away from the silver circling her wrists. Her mind began playing over the last few days of Mary's life, before she had fled.

The judge had declared her mentally unstable to stand trial. But she KNEW. She knew she hadn't killed him. Them. They had believed the worst in her, because she had been holding the gun when they found her sprawled out on the floor. They didn't believe her when she told them that her ex-husband had come over on Christmas to kill them. Her and her two daughters. They thought that because it was a gun registered in her name, she must have pulled it to stop him from taking the children.

But he had known where it was. Even told her to put it there back when they were together. She was too naïve to change the place.

She wrenched her mind back again, this time with a forceful shake of the head. Staring in horror at the officer, who was trying to bend her head into the cruiser, she freaked out. Shaking violently, she pulled back, tipping both of them over into the dirt. The officer was quick, though, and retained a hold on her wrists. Whipping her head back and forth desperately, she yanked hard on her hands, and he slipped again. It wasn't much, but the hold loosened just enough to let her free.

RUN, was the only thought in her head. Her instinct took over, and she rabbited. Running as though the hounds of hell where snapping at her heels, she bypassed all of the people around her, (why were they so familiar?) and dashed into the woods surrounding Pierrefonds. She ran for a long time, certain at anytime she would be felled in her tracks by a gunshot.

She finally came to a stop near a small pond. The water was very cold, but she drank it down as fast as her mouth would work. Her hands were still circled by the despised silver bands, and it was difficult getting back up. Her was still heart beating fast, when she heard the sounds of her pursuers. Instinct kicked in again, and she hid. As it was late fall, it was not easy to find a hiding spot, but finally she used her brain and climbed a tree. The fact that she couldn't climb well was only enhanced by the fact that her hands were restrained.

As she hid in the hollow trunk she could hear people yelling. They were calling Ocean, and maybe they weren't after her after all, because her name was Mary, even though she'd always loved the ocean. One man was almost under her hiding spot. He sounded like he was crying, his voice hoarse from the tears and the calling, and Mary's heart went out to him. She almost gave away her hiding spot. At the last second though, the handcuffs gave a nasty pull on her wrists. Biting back a whimper, she stayed silent, and everyone passed by her.

They kept searching until nightfall, and by then Mary was horribly cramped from being in one position all afternoon. As the sounds died down, she tried to carefully make her way down from the tree. Instead of climbing down gently, she fell. She cracked her head on the trunk on her way down, and landed unconscious.

The next morning found Ocean waking up under a tree, her wrists bound together, her head pounding, and the dull taste of copper in her mouth. There was also a terrible wrenching pain in her right shoulder, and she looked to see the shoulder had been popped out of its socket. After briefly wondering what kind of party she had been to last night, she started to remember details of her flight. As the tears began to flow again, she sobbed her heart out, as quietly as she could.

After some time, she crawled back to the pond, the brackish water making her sputter and wonder how she had gotten it down yesterday. One thing was for sure, if she was going to spend time out in this god-forsaken place, she would have to find fresh water. She knew that you can live for days without food, as long as you have water to drink.

She searched around for a couple of hours, looking for a fresh stream, and managed to locate a fairly decent cave close by. It was a good thing she had found the cave, as right after she had gotten her drink from the stream she heard voices again. Crouching low, she rabbited again, this time to her cave, and hid herself close to the back, hoping that no one had heard her running.

The searchers who came into the cave weren't familiar this time, and the uniforms they wore matched the one from the officer yesterday. Ocean shivered as she heard the French being spoken by the officers. They did call out occasionally in English, but she wasn't about to turn herself over to these people. If it had been one of her friends, she might have gone to meet them, but these were strangers.

After the police left the cave, Ocean stayed hidden for another half an hour, making absolutely sure they were gone. Once she was certain, she ventured out long enough to get another drink of water, and found a cache of squirrel's nuts, and tried to think of a way to carry them back to the cave. She had to settle for putting as many as she could in the left-hand pocket of her jeans. Her shoulder was becoming numb, and she was pretty sure that was a very bad sign.

She had to find a way to get these bloody handcuffs off, and fix her shoulder if she was going to stay out here.

She worked for two days to try to get the handcuffs off. She tried slipping them off, using mud, frog slime, and any other slippery substance she could find. She tried banging them on the ground frequently to see if they would break, only to slip and bark her left elbow and wrenching her shoulder again. Her scream of pain, she was sure, was overheard by someone, so she stopped and returned to her cave.

Finally she came to the conclusion that she would never be able to get these damn cuffs off without help. As she sobbed softly, she planned out how she was going to get back to Pierrefonds. Under cover of darkness she would tiptoe through the forest, hoping and praying that she was going the right way. That day she slept, and woke in the fading light. As she started out, she prayed that no one saw her.

In fact, a few people did see her in her pursuits. However, as she was travelling at night, in a dark forest, they all believed they had spotted a ghost, and, after much ribbing from each other, they went home and vowed not to drink quite that much ever again.

She finally made it to the castle close to dawn. Her body demanded rest, but she couldn't give in to its demands when she was this close to her goal. As she paused, she leaned against a tree, her heart jack-hammering in her chest. Looking closely, she noticed Colin and Bradley in the morning light, walking up the road to Pierrefonds. She was between them and the castle. They seemed to be exhausted, heads bent low, talking about something.

Ocean stumbled into the road. Bradley looked up first, and nudged Colin into a run. They caught Ocean as she collapsed.

"Jesus," Bradley swore as he took in the dislocated shoulder, the handcuffed wrists and the dirt everywhere. Colin was beside himself, sobbing and brushing back Ocean's hair from her face, trying to soothe her already unconscious mind. Bradley took matters into his own hands, and scooped up Ocean into his arms, motioning for Colin to follow.

Bradley brought Ocean directly to the medics' trailer, hoping to God someone was there at this time of the morning. As he placed her on the bed there, Colin went to find Santiago. He remembered that Santiago had some amazing lock-picking skills, although he never did elaborate on how he picked up such an interesting talent.

Santiago managed to inform the other searchers on his way to the medics' trailer. They had been getting ready for day four of the search for Ocean. Everyone managed to make their way to the trailer, to see that she was alright, and to reassure themselves that she really was still alive. Even the Jays came to check on her.

The medic was finally located, and rushed to the trailer. He got there at the same time Santiago was popping the handcuffs off of Ocean's wrists. Bradley gently rubbed at Ocean's left wrist to get some circulation back into her hand, and Colin did the same for her right wrist.

"Fuck," The medic muttered to no one in particular. "She's in for a rough couple of minutes…" He worked to get out a strip of leather, some bandages, and some painkillers. Shoving the leather strip at Colin, he ordered "Get that between her teeth. As long as it's there she won't bite her tongue. I have to set this shoulder, and it's going to be a bitch because it's been like this for a few days. Her muscles aren't going to be happy one bit, but it has to be done.." Colin just looked at the medic like he was crazy.

Bradley sighed. Grabbing the leather strip from Colin, he shot a look to Santiago, who put a comforting arm around Colin and gently led him away from Oceans' inert body and outside. Tucking the leather between Oceans' teeth, Bradley grabbed her from behind, tucking one hand around her stomach, and the other around her chest, ready to hold her as still as possible while the medic worked.

The medic gave Bradley a quick look, he nodded and the medic gave a wrench on the shoulder. Oceans' eyes flew open, and the scream she released was enough to break Bradley's heart. As the medic continued to pull steadily, Ocean's screams turned to wails, cries of "Stop… STOP…. PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP! AIEEEEEE!"

With a final pop, the shoulder went back into its' socket, and Oceans' cries halted. Her head fell back, eyes rolling in her head, as she sagged against Bradley. He knew at once that she had slipped back into unconsciousness, and gently placed her back on the bed to let the medic finish his examination.

He heard a commotion outside the trailer, and walked out to see Colin, trying desperately to get past Santiago and Rupert, with Eoin holding back his arms. Bradley motioned to Eoin to let Colin go, but placed a restraining hand on Colin's chest.

"Give her a minute or two to wake up, mate," Bradley murmured to Colin. "Get a hold of yourself. What do you think she'll be thinking if you storm in there looking like you're ready to kill everyone?"

Colin raised his tear-filled eyes to Bradley's, and took a deep, shuddering breath. Tom softly clapped Colin on the back, trying to soothe the smaller man. Colin gave a small, desperate smile to everyone around. Hanging his head, he started a soft breathing exercise that he learned back in school. The medic chose that moment to emerge from the trailer. All eyes looked to him.

"She'll be all right, but this has been very hard on her. Physically, I've done as much as I can to fix what was wrong. Mentally, she may not be the same person you know. I've seen this kind of thing happen before." He rubbed his hands over his tired face. "She may not even be Ocean anymore. The person I saw this happen to changed. He was never the same person again. His whole attitude and personality was different." He looked sadly at Colin. "It's not certain that this will happen though. I'll ask you not to disturb her any more than necessary. I'm sure she would like to see you. She came to a few minutes ago."

Colin surged forward, sprinting up the steps before anyone dared challenge his right to see her. Behind him, no one had even moved. Katie and Angel gave each other a look, and Katie shared that look with Bradley. He smiled, and they waited for their turn to see Ocean.

Inside the trailer, Ocean was propped up on the bed. Her hair was in her face, like she was still hiding. Her legs tucked up to her chest, her arms holding them in place in front of her. She sat and rocked like that for a few seconds while Colin just stared at her.

"Say something." Her voice was so soft he barely heard her.

He sat softly on the side of the bed beside her. His hands pushed the hair from her face, uncovering her leaking eyes. Tucking her hair behind her ears, he crooked his knuckle under her chin, slowly bringing her face up to look at him. When her eyes finally meet his, she's shocked to see that he's crying nearly as hard as she is.

"I love you…" Is the only thing he says at first. Bending down slightly, he captures her lips in the softest kiss imaginable. His hand slides slowly from her chin to her cheek, and down to the back of her neck. Her breath hitches, and he stops immediately, worried. She looks up at him through her wet lashes.

" I thought, you know, they'd tell you about the last time I was in handcuffs." A sob tore through her throat. "I was accused of murder. Not just any murder, but the murder of my ex-husband. And my children. They really thought I was capable of killing my babies!" And the shudder that wracked her body promped Colin to hold her close to his chest. "I couldn't… Never… They were my girls…" And promptly collapsed in on him, her heart-rending sobs breaking Colin's heart.

"Once they finally realised I was innocent, I had been in handcuffs for seven months." She murmured after a few minutes of sobbing. "I vowed that it would NEVER happen again. When that officer put those cuffs on me, my world stopped." A new flood of tears began, washing more dirt down her cheeks in a never-ending streak. "I wasn't really thinking… I just knew I had to get away from them as fast as possible. I saw everyone, but it didn't register that you were my friends. Then later, I'm pretty sure you passed close by the tree I hid in, and it took everything in me not to reveal myself to you. You were crying, and calling my name, but I didn't remember that I was Ocean. I was only Mary. That was my name before, you see…"

Oceans' voice stuttered to a stop. He watched her breathing for a few minutes. "Please say something…" She murmured softly again.

"I still love you…" Colin replied. Her head came up. "No matter what happened, I'm just glad you're back here with me. If I had lost you forever, I'm not sure what I would have done. As it is, I've been devastated for the last four days. The only thing keeping me going was the idea that you might still be out there, hurt, sick, or dying, and I wouldn't find you on time." Cuddling her closer, he pressed a kiss to her temple, then slowly peppered her whole face with kisses, and finally kissed her upturned lips.

"All right you two, we've given you lots of time," Grumbled Bradley, as he, Santiago, Rupert, Tom, Katie and Angel squeezed into the medic trailer to see Ocean. Eoin and Adetomiwa stood outside with Anthony and Richard.

After everyone had a chance to visit for a little while, the Jays all came over to check on Ocean.

"Glad to see you're okay, hun." Stated Johnny. He reached over and gave her a gentle hug. "By the way, we've been thinking, and we might possibly have a part for you sometime soon. When you're feeling better, yeah?" And he was off with a wave. The other Jays left with waves and murmurs of "Get better, okay?"

Colin shook his head softly. "Always work, with them…"

"They wouldn't be the same if they didn't, Col…. You know that." Ocean smiled up at him. "Hey, do you think we might be able to convince one of the drivers to give us a ride back to the hotel? I've not been clean in four days, and I'm starting to become a little ripe here…" She gave a small laugh. It wasn't quite as easy a laugh as she used to be able to so, but it was a start. Colin smiled a quiet, loving smile, and replied "Sure."


	5. Chapter 5

I cried while I was wriing this chapter. I cried after I was done writing this chapter. And I cried again just now, re-reading his chapter. I hope you like it. 3

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><p>Bradley James, actor, was at the end of a very long filming day. Standing in the courtyard of Pierrefonds, he looked around at the pretend carnage. He was working well with his "knights", setting up scene after scene of fighting for an upcoming episode where they were battling Mordred and his evil druids. Asa Butterfield was growing up quite nicely. He was gaining some height, and Bradley was happy to be working with him again.<p>

A set of security guards walked quickly past where Bradley was taking a breather, drinking a bit of water and shielding his eyes from the setting sun. He caught a bit of what they were saying as they rushed past;

"I can't believe she's here again," Exclaimed the taller guard, Alex, who then spoke into his radio. They dashed out the drawbridge to the front lawn. Since Bradley wasn't due to be on camera for a few minutes, he followed the guards, curious. Sitting on the "battlements" was a woman. A woman who was quite familiar to Bradley, and in shock he stared. As the guards began talking to her, she turned sad eyes to them, and Bradley couldn't help a quiet inhalation.

"Desiree," He breathed.

Running over to where she was sitting, he stooped his head and kissed her softly. She blinked, and looked tired eyes up at him. "Bradley?" She whispered softly.

The guards both looked at him curiously. "Uh, Bradley," Alex began. "Um, she's not supposed to, uh, be here. She's got, uh, a restraining order…" Alex trailed off as Bradley shot him a dirty look.

"Why would you get a restraining order on her? What did she do? What did you do?" This last question was posed to Desiree. "Nothing," She sighed. "I was just here…sitting."

"Ya, every day for the last 3 weeks!" Replied Alex hotly. "The owners finally couldn't take it anymore. They wanted her gone. She even sleeps there!" He added indignantly.

Bradley looked at Desiree. She had lost weight, become skin and bones, and he was genuinely worried about her. "When was the last time you ate anything?" He asked her gently, tilting her head up to look in her eyes. She closed her eyes to avoid his gaze. "I really don't know," She breathed. "The days kind of run together now…"

Gathering her up in his arms, he ignored her protests. It had been almost 3 months since he had last seen Desiree, and back then she had been beautiful, vivacious, and nothing like this shell. He wasn't sure if she was on drugs or what, but he carried her carefully to the medic to get his opinion.

The medic looked at Bradley, shook his head and muttered "Next thing it'll be animals. You're making a habit of this, Brad."

"Bradley, I'm fine," Desiree muttered. "I'm fine!" She said a little louder as he placed her on the portable bed, and looked pleadingly at the medic. She sulked a little as she realised Bradley wasn't going to let her out of the medical trailer until she had a thorough exam.

While the medic was examining Desiree, Bradley went to find Colin and Ocean. Colin Morgan was one of his co-stars, the one who played Merlin, incidentally, and Ocean was Colin's very sweet, very strange girlfriend. Bradley was pretty well convinced that Ocean had magical powers, but no one else ever saw what she did, so he kept that to himself. They were his best friends at Pierrefonds, and he needed to tell them that Desiree was back.

As he approached Colin and Ocean, Hope lifted her head from between her paws and thumped her tail on the ground. One of these days, Bradley reminded himself, he would have to get the story out of Ocean as to how she came about having a pure-bred wolf and wild horse of her own. He hailed Colin and they both turned.

"Bradley," Ocean breathed. Reaching out she gave him a hug. That was Ocean's preferred method of greeting; she hugged everyone. Colin smiled and clasped Bradley's hand in greeting. "Hey, Bradley."

"Desiree's back," Bradley blurted out. Ocean and Colin exchanged a startled look. As one, they began walking to the medic trailer, with Bradley following behind giving a running commentary. "She's not the same as she was though," He shuddered. "She's nothing but skin and bones now, and she doesn't know how long it's been since she last ate. And apparently she has a restraining order from the owners of Pierrefonds," He added, almost as an afterthought.

Colin looked back at Bradley. "We'll get it sorted, mate," He said softly. They arrived at the trailer, and Colin stayed outside for a minute with Bradley, while Ocean went inside to greet her friend.

Ocean came back out after a few seconds. She was pale, and looked sadly at Bradley. "She needs to talk to you, before we see her. She wants to tell you the reason she's so…" Ocean gestured. "Just go." As he walked to the trailer, Ocean pulled Colin into her arms, and began crying and murmuring softly to him.

Bradley bounded into the trailer. As he looked at Desiree, she looked as though she was dead. His heart gave a lurch, and he folded his legs under him as he reached for her hand. Her head swivelled to look at him, pain evident in her eyes. "Bradley," She croaked. She cleared her throat and began again.

"Bradley," she started. "I'm sorry I didn't come back. I honestly was afraid of how I felt. How you felt." She coughed. "I'm sick, Bradley. I have… cancer." She shuddered her way through the word. "I've had it for a couple of years now. It started with a simple, little lump in my breast. I didn't think anything about it. It didn't hurt, and I wasn't concerned. When it got bigger and I started worrying about it, I was told by my doctor that it wasn't covered under any insurance that I might have had, and that I would have to take out loans to cover the expenses to have it removed. Since I had two small children, I looked into the treatment. I didn't want to leave them, but I also didn't want to leave them with a mountain of debt either."

A coughing fit took over her body, and left her gasping for breath. Once she could speak again, she continued.

"I discovered that the price was too much. I had some savings set up, and a plan in effect for the kids' education, and I couldn't take that away from my children. My cousin, Andrea, adopted my boys, and my eldest, Alyssa, was old enough to be on her own. I set them up, made sure they didn't need for anything, said all my goodbyes, and left. I wandered aimlessly for some time. Finally I decided I wanted to travel though Europe. I took a bit of the excess money I had saved up, bought a ticket, and took the first flight out. I ended up in Germany. I picked up a few things, a backpack, a tent, and a fire starter, and just started walking. At first I was fine. Happy, healthy, and losing weight due to all the walking I was doing. Then I started skipping meals. I wasn't hungry, and some of the meals I was offered made my stomach turn. I avoided doctors, and even large cities, because I sometimes fainted, and overall I was progressing nicely toward the end of my life."

Another cough stopped her. Bradley held her while she coughed, bracing her against his chest. Once she quieted, she continued:

"Then I met you… In that club. I was feeling extremely lonely, and needed to know what it was to be loved again, even for a short time. That man, the one who ended up on the floor…. He would have been the one I went home with if not for you…" She shuddered, and Bradley remembered the grabby, loud, drunken ass that he had interrupted and, so gallantly he thought, saved Desiree from. He pulled her a bit closer, possessively, and she continued her quiet monologue. "Then you showed up, and I KNEW….. I knew that if you asked me, I would go with you, no matter if you had asked me to rob the Louvre with you or something as simple as sleeping with you. With that one act of kindness, Bradley James, I fell in love with you."

Her eyes were full of tears as she looked at him. "I was so scared. I knew that if I felt this way, it meant that I was still alive, and I didn't want to die. Since I knew I HAD to die, I ran. After dinner the night that Henry's barn burned, I slipped out after we…. After you fell asleep. I had to leave, so that you wouldn't fall in love with me…" Desiree's tears were flowing freely now, as she lay braced against his chest, her tears soaking the tunic under the wool jacket.

"Oh babe," Bradley breathed. He was still assimilating what Desiree had told him, and his breath hitched when he realised that she loved him. "Oh God, do you have any idea how upset I was when you left?" Bradley grabbed Desiree by the upper arms. "I went a little mad… All I could see was you lying somewhere, helpless, afraid, and I wouldn't be able to save you. I looked for ages! Colin and Ocean helped, and Hope… Well, I never knew that a wolf could track, but she did a great job. We still weren't able to find you though…" A small tear trickled down Bradley's face. He swiped it away quickly.

"It doesn't matter why you left… the only thing that matters is that I DO love you, and I want you to promise me that you won't leave me again…" Bradley stated.

"But I CAN'T promise that, Bradley," Desiree blurted out in anguish. "I WILL die… I can't stop it from happening! I should just go…" Desiree made to get up and leave. Bradley grasped her by the waist, and pulled her back down, into his lap.

"No!" And he planted his lips on hers, roughly, bruising her lips in a crushing kiss. Then, realising exactly who this was, he gentled his kiss, and she began returning the soft caress. Twining her arms around his neck, she slowly played with the hair at the back of his neck, while he ran his hands up and down her spine.

As they broke apart, they heard a soft cough from the door. Looking over, they saw Colin with a scarlet flush creeping up his neck to his cheeks and ears. Ocean peeked around Colin's shoulder, and smiled a small, mysterious smile, and walked in to hug Desiree.

While the girls chatted, Bradley realised that if he didn't stop her, Desiree would be out of his life again, and his poor heart couldn't take that again. Pulling Colin aside, he murmured in low undertones about how he felt and asked Colin what he should do. Colin put on his "thinking face" and asked Bradley how much he loved Desiree.

"With all my heart. I want to spend the rest of the time she has on earth with her. I don't care if she's dying… I need to be with her…" His voice broke, and he let out a soft sob while he bowed his head in misery.

"Then, I think you know what you need to do…" Colin replied softly, laying his hand on Bradley's shoulder. "Show her just how much you love her."

Bradley's head whipped up, and he stared at Colin. "You're right. I DO need to show her…" He looked away, staring off into the now darkened sky. "In the morning I have to get it for her…" His resolve firmed, and he stood a slight bit taller now that he had a set course in his mind.

X

After tucking Desiree into his hotel bed, he lay beside her just watching her sleep. A lot of the stress from her past few months had dissolved in the evening after he had brought her back to his hotel room. It was still evident in her face a little, but she was much happier now, and the kisses and love he had showered her with had smoothed out her frown, and the sad lines between her eyebrows.

Bradley smoothed back her hair from her eyes, tucking it softly behind her ears. He was surprised just how deeply he was in love with this woman. The thought of her not being with him gave him a sick feeling in the depths of his belly. But he knew that no matter what happened, he would be happy with the time he got to spend with her, and if she did die, he would treasure every moment until then.

He stole softly from the bed, checking to make sure she didn't stir, and left the room quietly. Knocking softly on Colin's door, he advised him where he was going, and asked Colin if he could keep an ear out for Desiree while she slept.

He searched for ages, because even in Paris jewellery stores weren't open twenty-four hours. He finally found one that was still open, and was able to make a purchase that, in his humble opinion, was perfect.

X

In the morning, Desiree woke with the sun in her eyes, and a warm arm around her waist. Turning over, she mumbled a soft "Mornin," as Bradley's soft blue eyes opened and took in her profile. He smiled a secretive smile, and murmured, "Morning, luv. I have a surprise for you…" He laughed softly as her eyes flew open at that. Pulling herself across his chest, she stared into his eyes, resting her chin on her crossed arms. Pursing her lips, she stretched up to his, and kissed him gently. "What?" She asked quietly.

"Well, if I tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" Bradley laughed again as she harrumphed, and slid off his chest, rolling over to get out of bed. Bradley winced as he took in the bruises and discoloration of her damaged body. Getting up with her, he walked behind her into the bathroom, and they spent some time getting ready for the day.

Bradley brought Desiree to work with him, as he was filming a scene in the great hall that day. He and the court, including Tony Head as Uther, were supposed to be welcoming some foreign nobles to Camelot. But his surprise involved a lot more than welcoming some foreign dignitaries to the court. He had called to Johnny, and asked if he could get Desiree in as an extra, and advised him of his plan. Johnny asked him if he really wanted to go through with it, and Bradley mentioned it was the only thing that he did want, period, and would Johnny please give him the answer he needed? As expected, Johnny sighed, and relented.

"As long as you know what you're doing, Bradley. Who the hell am I to stand in the way of love?" Johnny sighed again. "Get her to wardrobe…"

As Bradley bustled Desiree to wardrobe, she kept up with her questions. By the time they got there, Bradley huffed and left her with Mary, the costume designer. By the time Desiree was ready, Bradley was in Prince Arthur's ceremonial robes, and standing in the great hall next to Tony. They were chatting quietly as everyone waited for the rest of the extras to arrive on set.

"Ah! There you are!" Johnny's booming voice was heard over the murmur of the crowd, as Desiree wandered in, clothed head to toe in one of the most beautiful gowns Bradley had ever seen. Bless Mary, Bradley thought. He would have to make sure he got her a little something for pulling off such a great look for Desiree. Johnny strode over to Desiree, who looked completely bewildered.

"Okay, since we are starting a new scene, let me lay it out for you!" Johnny's voice carried over the crowd, so everyone could hear him. "This is our Princess, Catherine." He motioned to Desiree. "She is to walk up the aisle between the court, curtsey, and wait for Uther and Arthur. Uther will bow slightly, and Arthur will kiss her hand, and she'll walk back over here," And Johnny motioned to the tape stuck to the floor. "This will be your mark when you move back, and you'll stand here until I call cut. All right?" Desiree gulped, then nodded gently. "Okay then, lets do a quick couple of run throughs. Then we'll start running the cameras."

So for 3 rehearsals, they made the motions, and it took two tries before Desiree stopped giggling when Bradley kissed her hand. Her curtsey was cute though, kind of off centre and tipsy, but quite sweet. He couldn't stop grinning like a mad man. The next take was supposed to be the one that was taped, and that was what Bradley was waiting for.

Johnny called for the cameras to be set up, and the crew milled around, waiting for the inevitable "Action!" After a couple of minutes everything was ready, and Johnny advised everyone to take their places. Johnny called "Action!" And it was time. Bradley was nervous, but he had been practising this all morning, and was almost certain that he was ready.

As Desiree walked slowly up the aisle, Bradley found his heart swelling. His eyes drank in the beautiful sight of her, and then she was in front of him and Tony, and curtseying. Tony bowed gently, and Bradley took her hand in his, kissing the knuckles gently. As she moved to go to her place, he held on to her hand, and gently but firmly pulled her back to him. Her eyes went wide, and she glanced covertly at Johnny.

"I need to say something at this time!" Bradley called out to the crowd. Desiree gasped softly. "I want everyone here to know this beautiful woman. I actually had a big flowery speech all memorised to do this," He called as his cheeks began to flame. "But I've forgotten it, so I'll just do this," And he knelt in front of Desiree, ignoring the gasps and cries of surprise from everyone in the room, not the least of which was Desiree herself. "I love you, and I know you're scared, but I want to be the person that spends the rest of your life with you. I would trade a million tomorrows without you for a single day with you. Please say you'll be my wife…" And with those words, he pulled a small velvet covered box from his pocket, and presented it to her.

Desiree gasped again, tears flowing from her eyes and her breath coming in soft sobs. "Yes…" Her reply was so soft he barely heard it, and he looked at her face for confirmation. She smiled, and nodded her head, and the audience went crazy. The clapping and shouting and wolf whistles faded into the background, as he slipped the ring from the box and onto her finger. Looking up into her eyes, he stood, and picking her up gently by the waist he planted a passionate kiss on her upturned lips.

"I love you," Desiree muttered against his lips, and he smiled confidently. "Well, I'll be able to tell you a million times a day now, if you want me to…" He replied. "Mmmhmmm…" She hummed back at him. Then they broke the kiss and turned to accept the loving congratulations from their friends.


	6. Chapter 6

Well, this is it. Sorry it kind of ends abruptly. I tried to give it a happy ending, but wasn't sure where to take it after this. If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

* * *

><p>The day dawned bright and lovely. The sun was warm, and not a hint of cloud was in the sky. The wind blew gently, bringing slight relief from the heat of the sun. Birds sang loudly in the trees, as though they knew what was going to be happening this day.<p>

Colin woke with a stream of sunlight in his eyes, and rolled over in his curiously empty bed. Oh yes… today was the day. He smiled softly. Apparently Ocean had decided to rise early and slip out before he could see her. Tradition and all that.

He remembered the night he had proposed to Ocean. He had brought her to his favourite restaurant, and then they had gone ice skating on a rink close to the Eiffel Tower. He pointed out where they had gone on their first date, where they had been with Bradley and Desiree, and he had given them a French-accented tour of the tower. He giggled softly with the memory. At that point in his night, Ocean had fallen on her cute behind, pulling him down with her and they had laughed long and loud. Once they had stopped laughing, and managed to get back to their feet, he had pulled her over to the side of the rink, and knelt in front of her. She had laughed again, kindly, and just said; "It's about time," and kissed him for her answer.

Colin decided to get up and start getting ready for the day. He had a lot to do, not the least of which was getting Bradley up and ready for HIS day. Colin walked over to the adjoining door of his hotel room and knocked loudly. Bradley tended to be a sound sleeper. There was a thump, a curse, and some shuffling. After a minute Colin heard the lock click.

"Whazzut?" Bradley murmured sleepily. He ran his hand through his hair. "Mate, I just got to sleep…"

"Sorry, Bradley. It's time to get up. We have to start getting ready. You do remember what day it is, right?" Colin tilted his head sideways, lifting his eyebrow the way he knew bugged Bradley.

"Course, I do…. Main reason I couldn't, sleep, actually. Was too keyed up to sleep." Bradley replied quietly. "I've never felt like this about anyone…"

"I know…" Colin replied. "But today's the day, so you better start. Desiree might be slightly disappointed if you show up wearing nothing but pyjama bottoms." Colin laughed softly. Bradley smiled ruefully, and turned back into his room to get ready. Colin began doing the same.

X

They had decided to request permission to have the wedding at Pierrefonds. It had taken a lot of cajoling of the owners to get permission, but at this moment the wedding co-ordinators were setting up in the main courtyard. The wedding itself was to be held there, with the reception to be held in the back, on the open lawn.

When Colin and Bradley got to Pierrefonds, they discovered the Merlin props people hard at work. They were flying flags, putting up banners and setting up the flower-covered altar. In addition, they were getting the chairs ready, and putting flowers all over. Colin was glad he'd taken an antihistamine pill on the car ride over.

They approached the woman they had hired to set everything up, who actually happened to be part of the crew for Merlin, and asked if there was anything they needed to do to help. Just as they asked, the caterer showed up for the reception.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you can help the caterer until 11. Then you have to make your way to Arthur's chambers, which has been designated as your green room. You can get ready there. Remember, I need you in the courtyard a minimum of 20 minutes before everything starts." She strode off to help some of the props people get a fountain set up properly.

"Seriously…" Bradley muttered under his breath. "A fountain? What was she thinking?" Colin shot a quiet, thoughtful look at Bradley, and then they went to help out.

At 11 o'clock, they bowed out gracefully, and made their way to Arthur's chambers. Colin was bouncing from corner to corner of the room, trying to calm down before the ceremony.

"Oi, Mate! Stop moving, will ya?" Bradley called gruffly. "You're making me nervous. Or MORE nervous, anyway!"

Colin turned quickly around, his face flushed with embarrassment, and sat down on the chair provided with a humpf. He began rooting around in Arthur's drawers, just to give himself something to do. Bradley watched him for a minute, then sighed. "We're totally useless at the moment, aren't we?" Colin looked over at him, gave him a slight smile, and nodded. "Yup," he replied.

Santiago and Neal walked in at that moment, and they looked at Bradley and Colin, then at each other and laughed. "Told you!" Neal laughed again. "Not even close to being ready yet, and less than 45 minutes until it begins. You guys are hopeless!" And they proceeded to assist Bradley and Colin in getting ready.

At exactly 20 minutes to 12, Bradley and Colin walked into the courtyard, and were accosted by the Wedding Co-ordinator, who bustled them up to the altar. There were quite a few people in the seats already. All of the cast and crew that could make it were there, plus Bradley's extended family, and Colin's family too. The owners of Pierrefonds, obviously, and some of the French extras were in the seats too.

At exactly 12, the small orchestra began playing the wedding march. Katie appeared as if by magic on the steps at the other end of the wedding aisle. She walked slowly, regally down the aisle. After 5 steps, Angel slipped out the doors as well, and began her march slowly down the aisle. They were gorgeous in pale bridesmaid dresses. The dresses were a soft lavender colour, with matching heels. The diamonds they wore were on loan from the same jewellery store that Bradley had purchased his engagement ring at.

The entryway doors opened, revealing both Desiree and Ocean side-by-side. Bradley and Colin both took a simultaneous breath in, as Richard took Ocean's arm, and Tony took Desiree's. Ocean wore a beautiful, floor-length, satin, form-fitting gown, in light ivory, and she held a bouquet of purple lilacs; Desiree was resplendent in a bright white gown; it was floor-length at the back, and knee length at the front, with bare arms, satin with lace covering every inch of it. The bouquet she held was pink roses, which matched the soft pink flush that crept up her neck as everyone in the seats stood.

As Richard and Tony gently led the girls toward the front of the courtyard, the murmurs of the crowd caused both girls to blush, and they both lowered their heads demurely, almost as one.

When they reached the head of the aisle, Richard and Tony handed the girls over to the care of their new husbands, and they all turned toward the priest together. The ceremony was short, simple and beautiful, and neither Colin nor Bradley really paid much attention until it was time to say the "I do's". As Bradley slipped the ring onto Desiree's finger, she gave him a smile with such love, trust, and devotion that he felt his own heart swell in response.

After he kissed Desiree, he looked to Colin, and found his own joy mirrored in his best friends' face.


End file.
